Prohibited and Unlawful Acts Flashcards

A client asks a Georgia notary to certify a photocopy of their state-issued birth certificate. The notary should:

Answer: Decline, because Georgia notaries cannot certify copies of vital records

Georgia notaries are not authorized to certify copies of vital records such as birth certificates; certified copies must be obtained directly from the issuing government agency.

A signer arrives visibly intoxicated for a scheduled notarization appointment. The Georgia notary should:

Answer: Refuse, because the signer likely lacks the capacity to act knowingly and voluntarily

A notary must decline to notarize when a signer appears to lack mental capacity due to intoxication, as the signer cannot knowingly and voluntarily execute the document.

A Georgia notary destroys their notary journal after receiving a court subpoena demanding its production. This act is:

Answer: A potential criminal offense for obstruction of justice or tampering with evidence

Destroying official records in response to a legal subpoena constitutes obstruction of justice and exposes the notary to serious criminal liability.

A notary's employer instructs them to notarize a document containing false statements, threatening termination for refusal. The notary should:

Answer: Refuse, because the notary bears personal legal liability for the notarization regardless of employer pressure

A notary bears personal legal responsibility for every notarization and cannot use employer instructions as a legal defense for notarizing false documents.

A Georgia notary performs a notarization after confirming the signer's identity through a phone call rather than in-person verification. Unless remote online notarization is specifically authorized, this is:

Answer: Unlawful because personal presence is required and a phone call does not satisfy it

Georgia law requires the signer to be personally present before the notary; telephone confirmation does not satisfy the personal presence requirement absent an authorized remote online notarization framework.

A Georgia notary affixes their official seal and signature to a notarial certificate but omits their commission expiration date. This omission:

Answer: Can render the notarization legally defective and violates Georgia's notarial requirements

Georgia law requires the notary's commission expiration date to appear on the notarial certificate; omitting it creates a defect that may render the notarization legally insufficient.

Which of the following acts would most clearly expose a Georgia notary to criminal liability?

Answer: Knowingly certifying the signature of a person who never appeared before them

Certifying that a signer personally appeared when they did not is a false certification that constitutes forgery, one of the most serious criminal offenses a Georgia notary can commit.